France, Scandinavia to get more iPhone carriers this year
On Wednesday, French telecom network SFR said it would carry the iPhone on April 8th.
The move follows a victory in court by fellow competitor Bouygues Telecom earlier this month that forced non-exclusivity for iPhone sales after the operator complained to France's Competition Council that the limitation to Orange and the length of the contracts required was hurting the ability of Bouygues and others to offer a fair challenge in the market place.
But while a symbolic victory, the SFR launch is bittersweet for actual end users looking for a potential bargain. The initial plans are in many ways similar to what's already offered through the existing provider. An 8GB iPhone 3G models is offered for 99 euros ($126) on any given contract, while the 16GB model sells for 199 euros ($253) under the same conditions.
Rates are, on top of this, slightly worse: a minimum plan costs 41.90 euros ($53) per month for just 60 minutes of regular calling (or 1 hour evenings and weekends) along with unlimited data, texting and Wi-Fi, while a 67.90 euros ($86) plan nets 240 minutes either anytime or a similar amount of time for evenings and weekends. Orange's plans are slightly more favorable at the low end but more expensive for very frequent customers.
SFR's iPhone plans.
Bouygues has yet to announce its own, official iPhone plans other than that it will carry both iPhone 3G models.
Meanwhile, Telenor late last week struck its own deal to carry the iPhone 3G, albeit without the need for a court order.
The deal will bring the Apple device to the carrier's Norwegian home as well as Denmark and Sweden, though unlike SFR, Telenor is less specific on details: it says only that iPhones will arrive "in the coming months."
But much like the French agreement, Telenor's deal will also break a previously exclusive arrangement. Until now, Sweden's TeliaSonera has been the only Scandinavian iPhone carrier in each of these same countries and has drawn criticism for using its position to severely curb the amount of data use on its plans.
Apple is no stranger to allowing multiple carriers; in Australia, three providers were available on the iPhone 3G's launch. However, the company has often agreed to exclusives and had joined Orange in appealing the original decision requiring non-exclusive terms in France. The new agreements therefore represent a partial -- but not entirely voluntary -- change in approach for the iPhone as it enters its second calendar year.
The move follows a victory in court by fellow competitor Bouygues Telecom earlier this month that forced non-exclusivity for iPhone sales after the operator complained to France's Competition Council that the limitation to Orange and the length of the contracts required was hurting the ability of Bouygues and others to offer a fair challenge in the market place.
But while a symbolic victory, the SFR launch is bittersweet for actual end users looking for a potential bargain. The initial plans are in many ways similar to what's already offered through the existing provider. An 8GB iPhone 3G models is offered for 99 euros ($126) on any given contract, while the 16GB model sells for 199 euros ($253) under the same conditions.
Rates are, on top of this, slightly worse: a minimum plan costs 41.90 euros ($53) per month for just 60 minutes of regular calling (or 1 hour evenings and weekends) along with unlimited data, texting and Wi-Fi, while a 67.90 euros ($86) plan nets 240 minutes either anytime or a similar amount of time for evenings and weekends. Orange's plans are slightly more favorable at the low end but more expensive for very frequent customers.
SFR's iPhone plans.
Bouygues has yet to announce its own, official iPhone plans other than that it will carry both iPhone 3G models.
Meanwhile, Telenor late last week struck its own deal to carry the iPhone 3G, albeit without the need for a court order.
The deal will bring the Apple device to the carrier's Norwegian home as well as Denmark and Sweden, though unlike SFR, Telenor is less specific on details: it says only that iPhones will arrive "in the coming months."
But much like the French agreement, Telenor's deal will also break a previously exclusive arrangement. Until now, Sweden's TeliaSonera has been the only Scandinavian iPhone carrier in each of these same countries and has drawn criticism for using its position to severely curb the amount of data use on its plans.
Apple is no stranger to allowing multiple carriers; in Australia, three providers were available on the iPhone 3G's launch. However, the company has often agreed to exclusives and had joined Orange in appealing the original decision requiring non-exclusive terms in France. The new agreements therefore represent a partial -- but not entirely voluntary -- change in approach for the iPhone as it enters its second calendar year.
Comments
I hope they roll it out to the rest of the world.
The only carrier that didn't get the iPhone here pays you money to buy one and have it officially unlocked and bring one over, with a special plan just for iPhone users! How cool is that!
60 minutes of talk time a month? You could easily use that in a day!
Don't you know? This is the only civilized way to do it. You just wait for someone on a land line to call you! Those fools in America who pay $50 for 600 anytime minutes with free nights and weekends are suckers!
And France Telecom does 'em all once again! similar plan (24 months' contract) at 39 eur/month. And on top of that Orange proposes the data-only plan now at 14 eur/month.
should have known this since long now. I told you.
And France Telecom does 'em all once again! similar plan (24 months' contract) at 39 eur/month. And on top of that Orange proposes the data-only plan now at 14 eur/month.
I don't know what you are referring to, but since time immemorial I have been using Italy as an example of why ending exclusivity would not help France a bit. The new French iphone carriers are giving charging even more money on plans than the Orange.
I don't know what you are referring to
Just follow my link, you will know. That's not phony link, you know, it points to my post on AI forum, I guarantee you.
but since time immemorial I have been using Italy as an example of why ending exclusivity would not help France a bit. The new French iphone carriers are giving charging even more money on plans than the Orange.
I foretold this too. So it appears to be. And it could not happen anyhow else, they are much feebler than France Telecom.